Sarah Kate Ellis

{{Infobox person

| name = Sarah Kate Ellis

| image = Sarah Kate Ellis at Collision 2017 2017-05-02 (34280235181).jpg

| caption = Ellis in 2017

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|11|27}}

| birth_place = Staten Island, New York, U.S.

| occupation = Media executive, activist

|education = Russell Sage College (BA)

| spouse = {{marriage|Kristen Ellis-Henderson|2011}}

}}

Sarah Kate Ellis (born November 27, 1971) is an American media executive and activist.

After Ellis's graduation from Russell Sage College in 1993 with a degree in Sociology and minor in Women's Studies, she began her career in media through the re-launch of Condé Nast's House & Garden.{{cite news|url=https://www.nexttv.com/features/wonder-women-new-york-2022-sarah-kate-ellis|website=Multichannel News|title=Wonder Women of New York 2022: Sarah Kate Ellis| date=March 4, 2022}}

In January 2014, Ellis was appointed president and CEO of GLAAD, the largest U.S. lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy organization.{{Cite web|date=November 25, 2013|title=GLAAD Board of Directors announces Sarah Kate Ellis as CEO and President of GLAAD|url=https://www.glaad.org/releases/glaad-board-directors-announces-sarah-kate-ellis-ceo-and-president-glaad|access-date=March 24, 2021|website=GLAAD|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Nichols|first=James|date=November 25, 2013|title=Meet GLAAD's New President And CEO|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/glaad-president-ceo_n_4338887|access-date=March 24, 2021|website=HuffPost|language=en}}

Early years

Ellis was born and raised on Staten Island, New York, where she attended Staten Island Academy. She and her older brother Spencer were raised by their parents, Barbara and Ken Ellis. During her youth, Ellis was an athlete; she participated in field hockey and was a Junior Olympic swimmer. While attending Russell Sage College, Ellis led a media campaign against the college administration's attempt to shut down the only women's center on campus and, in her senior year of college, Ellis came out of the closet as a lesbian. In 2011, Ellis attended the Tuck Executive Education program at Tuck School of Business Dartmouth College and completed it in 2012.

Media work

In 1995, Ellis began her profession in media. She first worked at mass media company Condé Nast, which laid the groundwork for her career advancement. Initially, Ellis worked at Condé Nast's House and Garden. From there, she moved to New York magazine as a senior manager, then to In Style as a director. Following her tenure at In Style, Ellis launched and directed the turnaround of Real Simple, which led her to Vogue where she oversaw ten lifestyle group brands.{{Cite web |last=Scipioni |first=Jade |date=June 15, 2021 |title=GLAAD CEO on why she put off coming out at work: 'There were no lesbians who had big careers' |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/15/glaad-ceo-sarah-kate-ellis-on-why-she-put-off-coming-out-at-work.html |access-date=April 3, 2024 |website=CNBC |language=en}} Ellis specialized in marketing and took on leadership roles. Extending the reach of her efforts, Ellis involved herself as co-chair of OUT at Time Inc., the company's LGBT employee resource group, where she led programming to spotlight the diversity of the LGBT community (2008-2013).{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

LGBTQ rights activism

Ellis began her activism in 1992, when she marched on Washington to support the rights of women and then marched again in 1993 to support the rights of LGBT people.

On January 1, 2014, Ellis began as president and CEO of GLAAD,{{cite web|url=http://www.glaad.org/releases/glaad-board-directors-announces-sarah-kate-ellis-ceopresident-glaad|title=GLAAD Board of Directors announces Sarah Kate Ellis as CEO and President of GLAAD|work=GLAAD|date=November 25, 2013 |accessdate=December 10, 2014}} the only U.S. organization working to move lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality forward through the power of the media.

One of the first campaigns Ellis pursued at GLAAD was the organization's 2014 protest against the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade, specifically the parade's ban of lesbian and gay participants. In an article in the New York Daily News,{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/pain-behind-today-parade-article-1.1722343|title=March 17: The St. Patrick's Day Parade, charter schools and Liam Neeson|work=NY Daily News|date=March 17, 2014 |accessdate=December 10, 2014}} Ellis wrote about her Irish-American heritage and sexual orientation, calling on parade organizers to end the ban.

In 2015, Ellis was named to OUT Magazine’s annual OUT100 list of the most impactful and influential LGBTQ+ people.{{cite web |title=OUT100: Sarah Kate Ellis |url=https://www.out.com/out100-2015/2015/11/09/out100-sarah-kate-ellis |website=www.out.com |publisher=OUT Magazine}}

In 2023, TIME Magazine included Ellis on its annual Time 100 list of the most influential people,{{cite web |last1=Arquette |first1=Patricia |title=Sarah Kate Ellis |url=https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2023/6269980/sarah-kate-ellis/ |website=TIME Magazine |date=April 13, 2023 |publisher=Time, Inc.}} and in 2024 was also named to Forbes Magazine's 50 Over 50 women's list.{{cite web |last1=Sairam |first1=Erin Spencer |title=50 Over 50: Impact |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2024/08/01/50-over-50-impact/ |work=Forbes}}

In January 2024, on behalf of GLAAD, Ellis accepted the Governors Award at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ 75th Primetime Emmy Awards in recognition of GLAAD’s work “over nearly four decades to secure fair, accurate and diverse representation of the LGBTQ community in the media and entertainment industries and to advocate for LGBTQ equality.”{{cite web |title=Governors Award: 75th Emmy Awards |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLnzXTn5mtI |website=YouTube| date=January 15, 2024 }}

In August 2024, Ellis and GLAAD were the subjects of a The New York Times report that explored the organization's reimbursements of Ellis's "pattern of lavish spending", including luxury travel, home renovations and vacation property rentals.{{Cite news |last=Steel |first=Emily |date=2024-08-01 |title=A Pattern of Lavish Spending at a Leading L.G.B.T.Q. Nonprofit |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/01/business/glaad-ceo-spending.html |access-date=2024-08-01 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} In response, GLAAD released a statement defending their commitment to Ellis's leadership and their payments towards her business expenses.{{Cite web |last=Kuznikov |first=Selena |date=2024-08-05 |title=GLAAD Supports CEO Sarah Kate Ellis After Lavish Spending Allegations: 'We Are Certain That She Is the Right Leader' |url=https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/glaad-supports-ceo-sarah-kate-ellis-1236095968/ |access-date=2024-08-06 |website=Variety |language=en-US}} A subsequent Washington Blade op-ed by former GLAAD vice-president Zeke Stokes contested The New York Times reporting as "riddled with bad reporting, innuendo, lies, mistruths, facts out of context, and misinformation."{{Cite web |last=Stokes |first=Zeke |date=2024-08-05 |title=NY Times report on GLAAD riddled with bad reporting, innuendo, lies |url=https://www.washingtonblade.com/2024/08/05/opinion-ny-times-report-glaad-bad-reporting-innuendo-lies/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |website=Washington Blade |language=en-US}}

In an October 2024 interview with Variety Magazine, Ellis responded noting that the Times article lacked “context of why those decisions were made — not for lavish reasons, but to answer a business need.” She also criticized the Times article for failing to disclose the fact that GLAAD was engaged in an ongoing campaign alleging bias in the publication’s coverage of issues and topics related to transgender people and issues.{{cite news |last1=Donnelly |first1=Matt |title=GLAAD Chief Sarah Kate Ellis Speaks Out on New York Times Spending Exposé: 'I'm the CEO, That's All On Me' (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/news/glaad-sarah-kate-ellis-new-york-times-election-1236195186/ |publisher=Variety |date=October 30, 2024}}

Personal life

In 2011, Ellis married Kristen Henderson, co-founder of the all-female rock band Antigone Rising.{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/3798069/behind-the-covers-portraits-of-the-gay-marriage-revolution-by-peter-hapak/|title=Behind the Covers: Portraits of the Gay Marriage Revolution by Peter Hapak|date=March 28, 2013|magazine=TIME}} Their wedding was the first official marriage ceremony for a same-sex couple in the Episcopal Church in the State of New York following passage of the state's Marriage Equality Act.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/glaad-names-sarah-kate-ellis-659776/|title=GLAAD Names Sarah Kate Ellis as President, CEO|first=Lesley|last=Goldberg|website=The Hollywood Reporter |date=November 25, 2013}} In 2013, the couple was famously featured on the "Gay Marriage Already Won" cover of TIME Magazine.{{cite magazine|url=https://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20130408,00.html|title=TIME Magazine Cover: Gay Marriage Already Won - Apr. 8, 2013|magazine=Time|access-date=December 10, 2014}}

Together, Ellis and Henderson have co-authored a memoir titled Times Two, Two Women in Love and the Happy Family They Made, released in 2011.{{cite book|url=http://books.simonandschuster.com/Times-Two/Sarah-Ellis/9781439176405|title=Times Two|date=October 2015 |publisher=Books.simonandschuster.com|isbn=9781439176412 |accessdate=December 10, 2014}} The autobiography chronicled their simultaneous pregnancies and road to motherhood, and was nominated for a Stonewall Book Award.{{cite web|url=http://tandemliterary.com/downloads/Ellis-HendersonTimeCoverpressrelease-040113.pdf|title=Kristen & Sarah Kate Ellis-Henderson Are Kissing on the Cover for Equality|publisher=Tandemlibrary.com|accessdate=December 10, 2014|archive-date=July 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729012856/http://tandemliterary.com/downloads/Ellis-HendersonTimeCoverpressrelease-040113.pdf|url-status=dead}} In 2023, the couple also published a children's book titled All Moms.{{cite book |title=All Moms |date=November 7, 2023 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=9781499815092 |url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/All-Moms/Sarah-Kate-Ellis/9781499815092}}

Prior to her tenure at GLAAD, Ellis and her wife were also profiled in a special New York Times Style section about marriage equality following its legalization in New York State{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/fashion/weddings/gay-marriage-for-the-sake-of-the-children.html?pagewanted=all&_r=3&|title=Gay Marriage For the Sake of the Children|work=The New York Times|date=July 22, 2011 |accessdate=December 10, 2014|last1=Belkin |first1=Lisa }} and were the subjects of The Huffington Post's three-part documentary web series titled "Here Come the Brides."{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/16/here-come-the-brides-kristen-henderson-sarah-ellis-part-3_n_1095996.html?ref=weddings|title=Here Come The Brides: Kristen Henderson And Sarah Ellis Marry -- Part 3 (VIDEO)|work=The Huffington Post|date=November 16, 2011 |accessdate=December 10, 2014}} They were named one of GO Magazine's Most Captivating Couples of 2012{{cite web|url=http://www.gomag.com/article/americas_most_captivating6/3|title=GO Magazine - America's Most Captivating Couples 2012|date=February 10, 2012 |publisher=Gomag.com|accessdate=December 10, 2014}} and are the mothers of two children.